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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27499303">play nice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/delinquents/pseuds/delinquents'>delinquents</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Edoardo and Eleonora [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (Italy)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, 5+1 jealousy, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Teenage Dorks, edo's a dumbass and we been knew it, incantava - Freeform, jealous edo, skam italia - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:13:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27499303</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/delinquents/pseuds/delinquents</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Edoardo never used to get jealous; never got even remotely bothered when someone else made eyes at the girl he was with - and he really doesn't like the way it tightens in his chest now, tries to suffocate him from the inside. He knows he's not the possessive kind either.</p><p>But he doesn't know how to translate the insecurity of it all into a way that makes sense, in a way that won't raise red flags and make Ele go running. </p><p>or<br/>five times edo gets jealous and the one time he doesn't need to</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edoardo Incanti/Eleonora Sava</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Edoardo and Eleonora [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>play nice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTheYinToYourYangx/gifts">xTheYinToYourYangx</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a request for jealous edo which we all know i was all too happy to write :)</p><p> </p><p>this took me three weeks to write when i promised it in one... i hate like 99% of it and want to delete it all but I can't do that for a fifth time so i apologise for this absolute mess that i will probably rewrite in a month :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He's <em>not </em>jealous. He's <em>not. </em></p><p>He's just not used to sharing. </p><p>And he has to share Ele with <em>everyone.</em></p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>1</strong>
</p><p>He has to share her with Silvia; because Silvia can't know yet, Silvia deserves to hear about it when they know what they're doing, Silvia can't just have the band-aid ripped off and start healing, Silvia can't- <em>whatever </em>Silvia can't - and so, ultimately, he has to share her with Silvia and whoever comes <em>with </em>Silvia. </p><p>Edoardo gets it, he does, but he feels like they know what they're doing now - they have a good rhythm between them, somehow settled into a routine despite sneaking around - and <em>sure</em>, hiding this little secret away from everyone else is exciting and new and fast-paced, but he's kind of pathetic in the way that he wants to hold Ele's hand in public and kiss her before class and not have to let her hop out his car a few streets away from school in an area Silvia doesn't even know exists. </p><p>And because they can't tell Silvia yet, they also can't tell anyone else. Which means his friends tease him constantly for 'still waiting' for Ele, means he has to stop himself from even <em>smiling </em>at his own girlfriend in the hallways in case her friends take it the wrong way - which means Silvia still thinks Ele's available and <em>still </em>trying to set her up with the guy from her algebra class - which Edo does <em>not </em>like. </p><p>He trusts Ele knows what she's doing, that she has some kind of <em>plan</em>, but whatever it is he already hates it.</p><p>Because the plan clearly involves weaning Silvia into the idea of Ele and him together, which he can already tell is going to be a slower process than strictly necessary, and they're only at the starting lines. And, apparently, so is <em>Tomas</em>. </p><p>"Play nice," Ele warns him under her breath, sliding next to him in the doorway once the music gets too loud inside.</p><p>"I always do," Edoardo grumbles and ignores the pointed look she gives him, arching a brow at the cigarette hanging between two fingers. She hates that he smokes, he knows, and he's cut back since Ele started letting him kiss her - but he's been sat watching <em>Tomas </em>make jokes and touch Ele's arm, biting his lip when she looks at him and doing a <em>piss-poor </em>attempt at flirting with her and he just really needed to smoke all of a sudden. </p><p>Which, okay, is maybe too harsh on the guy considering Edo was doing the exact same thing a few months ago, but somewhere along the line it seemed to work because he gets to spend the night with Ele in his bed - <em>under </em>the covers this time, in his clothes that she keeps stealing, smelling like <em>his </em>shampoo - and he's going to be damned if it works for Tomas too. </p><p>"Edoardo," The doorway they're occupying is off to the side of the house, stashed away down a dark corridor Edo's pretty sure too many people have passed out in more times to count, but it's completely deserted save for them right now and he relishes in the way she cups his elbow in her hand and steps into his personal space. Ele smells like the peach conditioner she uses and the fancy perfume Filo got her for Christmas, and just faintly like the air freshener in Edo's car from where he dropped her off at Eva's a few hours ago. </p><p>"Did I tell you how good you looked today?" He mumbles, abandoning his beer on the windowsill and hooking his index finger through the belt hoop at the back of her shorts. She's wearing those plaid ones again, with a shirt that he knows feels soft under his fingers and doesn't wrinkle easily. He likes this outfit, likes the expanse of leg hidden under her tights and the way her arms are exposed so he can feel the goosebumps trailing down them with the back of his hand.</p><p>"A few times," She leans further into him, brushing her lips against the underside of his jaw. It's not a kiss, not how he wants it, but she's wearing deep purple lipstick tonight and he knows she won't risk leaving a trace on him. Either way, it's a promise for later on, that Tomas can tell as many stupid jokes as he likes and bite his lip until he chews it off, Ele's going to be crawling into <em>Edo's </em>bed tonight. </p><p>He hums, angling away to stub the half-finished cigarette against the wall before ducking to nestle against the strip of fabric blocking her neck from his mouth, "You look great."</p><p>"Doesn't matter how good I look if I stink of smoke," She mutters, just barely loud enough for him to hear her and he chuckles against her shoulder, nipping at the skin there before knocking their foreheads together. </p><p>"You left some spray in my car if you want me to go get it," He's not going to go. Or, he will, but he'll drag her there too and kiss her senseless, probably send her back to the party and <em>Tomas </em>with smudged lipstick and that special kind of glint in her eye she always gets after he kisses her. Scratch that then, he just wants to kiss her to see the glint again. </p><p>But Ele's talking again before he can lean forward and it's not until he has to strain to piece the words together to realise that he's drunk more than he should have tonight; "It's okay. Maybe Tomas will leave me alone if I smell of a little smoke."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"Hates the smell, apparently, really all he's been talking about since someone asked if he had a lighter."</p><p>She's got that indifferent tone she always uses when she's not fully interested in what she's saying, and it's such a change of pace from the friendly smiles Edo saw her give Tomas, the almost-full laughs she was letting out, that he swears to God he almost gets whiplash. </p><p>"So... you <em>don't </em>like him?"</p><p>She gives him a strange look, which a sober-Edo would have seen as half-smug and half-teasing, "Should I?"</p><p>Ele giggles as she ducks under his arm and heads back into the loud throng of music and dancing bodies, and Edo trips on his way to follow her.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>2</strong>
</p><p>He's done the whole relationship thing before - a girl in Milan that he only kind-of liked at the beginning and was <em>just </em>beginning to <em>really </em>like when Andrea came along and screwed it all up - but it was easier then. It was <em>expected </em>then. He was the same Edoardo he was when he met Ele, but this girl wasn't Ele. She liked the attention and the drama that came with popularity, liked getting involved in the arguments guys would start up with Edo simply because they all had too much to drink. She tagged along to the parties he wanted to go to and then dragged him out the next morning to brunch with her girlfriends, gossiping about his friends right in front of his face and acting like he wasn't angry with her afterwards. They had rules and boundaries then; things that were strictly off-limits because it crossed the line from their relationship into a more serious one; and Edoardo was convinced he could translate them into a relationship with Ele, alter them a little bit to fit the way Ele's so much better in every conceivable way. </p><p>Except, he can't. Ele doesn't fit the mould this other girl had created in his mind, and he's so ridiculously glad about it - stupidly happy he won't roll over one morning and start looking at Ele with that indifference he started looking at the last girl with - but it confuses him too, kind of scares him.</p><p>It's not that he doesn't want people to know how great Ele is. She's quite possibly the most brilliant girl he's ever met, a dozen or so goddesses wrapped into one body. He doesn't shy away from the affection she lets herself give him, and she's opening up to him more now, too. He loves the way her eyelashes flutter when he touches her cheek, and how she nibbles at his bottom lip when she wants to tease him. Loves how she chews the end of her pen when she's studying, how she kicks her feet into his lap when they play Fifa together, how she pouts when her tights get a hole in them, how she curls into his blankets and sticks her cold toes into the bend of his knee. He loves how closely she holds her friendship with Silvia - couldn't understand it at the beginning, when they were hiding everything, but gets it now; somehow managed to put himself in her shoes and imagine what she was going through - and how she refuses to let Silvia feel uncomfortable whenever all three of them are in the same room.</p><p>And it's not that he wants to hide her away from everyone else either. It's the exact <em>opposite</em>. He wants to show her off in all the ways she won't ever let him and wants to watch her poke fun at his friends when she beats them at Mario Kart. He wants to take her to all the greenhouses in the city she goes on and on about and wants to tease her about the gaping hole in her bank account that it causes. Wants to go back to the hour before Andrea first waltzed back into his life - when he learnt her shoe size and her favourite ice cream flavour and before they got put through so much.</p><p>He just wants some time alone with his own girlfriend, and he didn't realise that was too much to ask. </p><p>And <em>Tomas </em>never appears in his plans for <em>alone time </em>with his girlfriend.</p><p>Ele kicks him under the table and mouths 'play nice' at him, hiding a smile around the rim of her glass when he glares at her. Silvia knows they're together now, Silvia is <em>okay </em>with the fact that they're together now, but apparently, she's best friends with this Tomas guy now and they're <em>always </em>together. </p><p>And today together means crashing Edoardo's extensively planned date night with Ele - and, honestly, the fact that it's been so long since they went on a date that he can count <em>ten minutes </em>of planning as <em>extensive </em>is <em>pathetic.</em></p><p>"So, Edoardo," Edo shoots his hand to Ele's lap, gripping onto her fingers when Tomas turns to him, tilting his head to the side, "Cornell huh?"</p><p>Ele squeezes back, and he remembers that she's proud of him, that she'd been the one to read his college essay and scratch at his scalp soothingly when he got stressed about it all; but she's just as stressed about the distance, doesn't want him to be gone for as long as he will, and he kind of hates Tomas even more for bringing it up on their <em>date night</em>. </p><p>A date night <em>he </em>shouldn't be at.</p><p>"Mhm," He hums, shrugs with one shoulder and tries to jerk his head at Silvia to try and get her to take Tomas and go. </p><p>"Couldn't wait to get away?"</p><p>Silvia, at least, looks embarrassed at the turn of conversation. </p><p>Edoardo's proud of himself for getting into Cornell (their 10.6% acceptance rate already daunting enough but dropping to 6.4 for the course Ele gave him the confidence to go for), knows it's a big deal and that everyone in his circle is just as proud of him too, if not more. <em>Tomas </em>shouldn't have the ability to change that - except Edoardo also knows that Ele's worried about the distance, worried she's going to break down again without him there, worried about everything that can happen in the four thousand miles between them; knows that he's going to miss her, everyone, <em>Italy </em>a stupid amount and that he's going to wish he accepted Rome or Milan or anywhere closer.</p><p>Ele - beautiful, smart, fantastic, <em>brilliant </em>Eleonora Sava - jumps in, thumb rubbing soothingly along the back of Edoardo's hand, "Oh, Edoardo applied for like... eleven? Yeah, eleven different schools. Right?"</p><p>"Mhm," He nods, "Nine in Italy."</p><p>"But none of them are Cornell," Ele grins at him, eyes shining and smile just as bright. Edo can't help but feel smug when she leans back into his chest (half-off her seat to do so) and turns to Silvia to start another conversation.</p><p>By the time Silvia and Tomas leave, it's dark outside and Edoardo really can't bring himself to tell Ele that they missed their dinner reservations, let alone tell her they <em>had </em>dinner reservations. It was supposed to be a surprise, and they were supposed to <em>enjoy </em>themselves, but now he's just exhausted from grinding his teeth whenever Tomas told a joke that made both girls fall into hysterics. </p><p>"Edoardo-"</p><p>"I played nice!"</p><p>He didn't mean to slam the car door after she got in, or snap at her just then, but Ele seems to ignore all of that and lean across the handbrake to cup his cheek in her hand and smile gently at him, "I know, I was going to ask if you're okay? You look a little tired."</p><p>He sighs and leans into her, ignores the fact that her fingers are <em>freezing </em>in favour of tilting his head just right to get her hand from his cheek to the back of his head, fingers wrapped in his curls and nails scratching gently at his scalp. From here, Edo's in the perfect position to turn his head without interrupting her movements in order to press his mouth to the inside of her wrist, a small act of affection he knows Ele adores. </p><p>"Sorry," He murmurs, kissing her wrist to seal the apology in, "Today was supposed to be just us."</p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't think they would sit down when they came to say hi."</p><p>"It's okay-"</p><p>"No, no," Her hand moves and Edo whines, but when he opens his eyes she's shifting to sit sideways and a light switches on somewhere outside, illuminating half her face and dancing in her hair, "You planned a whole day for us and... I get another whole year with them, I should have told her I only get a few more date nights with you."</p><p>Something doesn't sit right with the use of 'them' and it shows on his face, Edo can tell when Ele furrows her eyebrows and taps his knee, "What?"</p><p>Edoardo never used to get jealous; never got even remotely bothered when someone else made eyes at the girl he was with - sure, he was hurt when Andrea whisked his ex-girlfriend away right under his nose, but he couldn't say he was <em>jealous </em>at the time - and he really doesn't like the way it tightens in his chest now, tries to suffocate him from the inside. He <em>knows </em>he's not the possessive kind either. He's incredibly aware that Ele would never make him feel the need to be; knows that Ele is so far away from the cheating type that it's almost comical. </p><p>It's just that he doesn't want to think about being all those miles away, so far from her and Fede and his Nonna. Doesn't want to think about the fact that Tomas is suddenly a part of Ele's life, doesn't want to think about the fact that as soon as he leaves the country that there's a chance Tomas is going to go swooping in. Doesn't want to think about how Ele might react - knows she won't do anything without telling Edo first, but also worried she'll link it all with Andrea; break down all over again, get comforted by her friends and he <em>knows </em>she won't feel comfortable telling him when there's an entire ocean between them. He doesn't want to think about all the relationships he's seen break down because of distance, all those people who couldn't handle it - all those times where one of them could, <em>wanted </em>to but the other couldn't fathom it.</p><p>He doesn't want to imagine what it would be like going to bed when she's just about to wake up, texting her goodnight when he's eating lunch. Doesn't want to imagine her fretting over exams, locked away in her room, forgetting that food and people and fresh air exist outside of Chemistry textbooks and math flashcards. </p><p>Tries so hard not to think about how Tomas's hands lingered on Ele's arm when he said goodbye - in a way that he knows Ele's chalked up to as friendly. Tries not to think about how everyone else seems to like him and that Fede's only seeing it from Edoardo's because Fede was the one to convince Edo to get out the car and run back to the greenhouse, to Ele, weeks ago. </p><p>Doesn't want to be <em>away </em>after everything they got forced through. They've wasted so much time already, spent so much time apart and not speaking and ignoring phone calls, and it's just a kick in the teeth he doesn't need. </p><p>But he doesn't know how to translate the insecurity of it all into a way that makes sense, in a way that won't raise red flags and make Ele go running. </p><p>"I just-" He tries anyway, stumbling over words before he even begins. It takes a while, and he feels like he failed when all he can get out is a weak, "I'm going to miss you."</p><p>And it's true - <em>of course</em>, it's true. He <em>already </em>misses her and she's right there with him, but he misses her all the same and it's probably going to physically <em>kill </em>him when he has to leave. </p><p>"I'm going to miss you too," She smiles at him, in that reassuring way she's managed to perfect since Andrea. It's great seeing it on her, suits her so much more than the ache she used to wear before, but it makes Edo ache a little bit now, too, seeing her bring it out so easily when she used to rely on him for that. </p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>She hums and nods, "Mainly the cookies, though."</p><p>He launches to press his fingers into the ticklish spots at her ribs, and he forgets about Tomas and Cornell and absolutely everything else when Ele starts giggling wildly against his mouth.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>3</strong>
</p><p>He's never been the best multi-tasker. He can really only keep up with one task at a time, perhaps one-and-a-half depending on what the half is, but even that's a strain most the time.</p><p>Which is why he's focusing solely on the way Ele's smiling against his mouth, and completely tuning out the rest of the party around them. Edo has no idea what this party is for, or whose house it is, or how long they've been hidden away in the corner for, but he <em>does</em> know that Ele gets a little breathless when he nibbles at her bottom lip in just the right place. </p><p>Ele never normally lets him get away with this or at least entertains him for a few minutes in a hidden away corridor everyone forgets about, but she's letting him press her into a corner in the main room of the party, a party busy enough that people keep bumping into his back every few seconds, and she doesn't seem ready to untwist her fist from his shirt and push him away just yet.</p><p><em>This</em> he's good at - making his girlfriend completely forget about all the people and the noises and the mess around them. It's a new skill he's recently mastered, having wasted too much time having to cap a time limit when they were sneaking around, or arguing with her about fights and chairs and his brother and leaving - and now, weeks and months and <em>aeons </em>later, they can do this without worrying about Silvia or Andrea or panic attacks or <em>anything</em>. </p><p>He likes doing this - <em>loves </em>doing this, loves that she just melts into him and whispers his name when he moves too far away. There's something so intoxicating about the way Ele's so <em>shy </em>in kissing him normally, but not today.</p><p>"We should go," Edo murmurs into her cheek, not for the first time tonight either. </p><p>"We got here an hour ago," Ele argues, in that voice Edo loves, "We can't leave, it'll be rude."</p><p>"I don't even know why we're here," He whines, suddenly hating the shirt she's wearing because he can feel the dip of her spine under his palm and he wants to touch all the skin the shirt covers up.</p><p>"I told you four times already."</p><p>And, okay, she <em>did </em>mention it was Tomas's birthday and it's only polite to at least show-up - and, <em>yes</em>, he didn't bring a gift because he still hates Tomas's guts - and, <em>fine</em>, Ele wants to come celebrate her friend's birthday with everyone else, but, <em>seriously</em>, how important can one birthday be? He's never thrown <em>himself </em>a birthday party, and it's really not his fault that his friends go overboard whenever it comes around, but <em>god </em>has Tomas really taken the cake.</p><p>There's strobing lights of basically every single colour littering the entire house, and more alcohol spilled on the carpets than anyone's actually drunk. What was once clearly a dining room has been completely stripped of furniture and there's even a fucking <em>rope </em>blocking off the bedrooms. </p><p>"When <em>can</em> we go?"</p><p>"When you play nice," She's warm and a little flushed, from kissing him or the heat of the party he really doesn't know, but her arms wrap around his waist before she disappears to see the girls and it's a little pathetic how she can still cause him to short-circuit like that with such a simple action. </p><p>He stays like that, blinking dumbly in the corner with his eyes glued to her back until he notices a hand take up residence right where he was looking. </p><p>"Keep glaring and maybe he'll just combust," Fede nudges a cup into his hands, kicking his shin to get his attention, "Thought she told you to play nice."</p><p>"I <em>am </em>playing nice," Edo's choosing to ignore the gleam in Fede's eyes and the teasing tone he's sporting, knows he'll have to deal with that all tomorrow but <em>right now </em>someone has their hands all over his girlfriend and it's <em>physically </em>hurting, "He's the one being a bitch."</p><p>"You really don't like him, huh?"</p><p>"I want him dead."</p><p>"'Cause he's touching your girlfriend?"</p><p>"Because he's an ass-hole." </p><p>Said ass-hole, wearing <em>way </em>too much green, is practically leering down the front of his girlfriend's top and Ele - beautiful, smart, fantastic, <em>brilliantly oblivious </em>Eleonora Sava - is waving her hands around as she tells a story to Eva and Tomas, probably doesn't even know he's drifting his hand down the back of her shirt. It's one of those flowy blouses she likes - <em>"Edo, it has pockets!" - </em>and a pair of the shorts Edo only despises because it creases so easily and Ele doesn't let him scrunch it up in his hands like he does to do with the others when he kisses her. </p><p>"You don't think you might be overreacting?"</p><p>He could be. It's always a possibility with Edoardo - he'd refused to talk to Nicco for two weeks when Nicco skipped ahead on a show they were watching together, and then there was the whole trying to leave town thing after Andrea, only to dramatically fling himself out of the car before Fede could put it in park just so he could go and kiss Ele again, promise her midway through the most <em>cliche </em>thing he's ever done that he was never going to leave again. </p><p>But he <em>knows </em>he's not, not this time. Edoardo feels pretty justified in why he's so tense whenever Tomas is around - and, after everything he and Ele have been put through, he feels he's pretty inclined to be a bit protective of her; to not want to share her with some sleazy prick who doesn't understand personal space.</p><p>But that's too complicated to get into right now, with Fede at least, so he instead tries to focus on remembering how Ele laughs at his stupid jokes while Fede talks him through his new video game. He's still too hyperaware of Ele, of <em>Tomas</em>, but the swelling in his chest dies down whenever he spots Ele shift away from the touches until she's tucked under Eva's arm, smirking at him from the rim of her cup.</p><p>She joins him and Fede half an hour later, cuddling into Fede's side instead of his and he has to laugh it off because it doesn't hurt this time, not with Fede, and Ele's looking at him exactly how he knows he looks at her, so everything feels alright again.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>4</strong>
</p><p>He likes Eva. Knows he probably shouldn't, or it should be some kind of grey area because she's his girlfriend's best friend but also his best friend's ex-girlfriend and also his friend's <em>current </em>girlfriend, but he likes her anyway. </p><p>Especially now. </p><p>She hands him a new beer, even though he's still got a mouthful or two left of the old one, and plops down onto the couch with him, kicking her feet into his lap and sighing when he rubs at her ankles. He's used to this, cradling her feet in his lap, hugging her to his side, pressing a drunken kiss to her cheek, because Ele and Fede get cosy all the time to mess around with Edo and it's only fair he get back at them. He doesn't know when they moved from doing this in front of the other two to it just being their natural go-to, but he's just glad that she seems to like being around him enough to not try and convince Ele that he's still that good for nothing fuckboy she was introduced to. </p><p>"Can I tell you a secret?" She leans into him, clinking their bottles together in a silent cheer, "But you can't tell Ele."</p><p>"Is this a trap? Because it feels like a trap." </p><p>She kicks at his thigh but the four beers in her system have taken their toll and she ends up swatting at a couch cousin with her heel, "No, it's not a trap. I just don't know how she'll react."</p><p>He'll probably tell her anyway, considering she tells him secrets she really shouldn't, but he also knows that Eva was prone to tell Fede secrets when they were together. It'll all come full circle and no one will get annoyed, because it's happened before and it was a <em>really </em>bad secret Eva would go straight to Ele, get rid of all the middlemen. </p><p>"Okay, shoot."</p><p>"I hate Tomas."</p><p>"Oh thank god," He's dramatic at the best of times, but the validation of hearing it from someone else tastes way too good, "I can't <em>stand </em>him."</p><p>"He's just the <em>worst</em>!"</p><p>"An absolute di- wait, why don't <em>you </em>like him?"</p><p>Eva shrugs a little and leans back against his shoulder, studying Tomas from across the room. Edo follows Eva's eyesight and his blood boils a little at the way Tomas is practically leering at Ele, who's too busy showing Sana something on her phone to notice anything. When Edo had left the girls in order to sit down he had no idea Tomas was even here, had no clue Tomas would suddenly appear the second Edo left, like he'd been waiting for that opportunity to strike.</p><p>"Prick," Eva mutters, right on cue as Tomas leans further towards Ele and slides a hand to the small of her back.</p><p>For her part, Ele jumps, apparently unaware he had even been there, and she steps away with that polite little smile that's too kind for Tomas, in Edo's opinion. </p><p>"Gotta go," Edo untangles himself from Eva and is across the room before he can even register he's taken a step, smug as all hell when Ele doesn't even look but sinks into him, catching his wrist against her hip and squeezing lightly. </p><p>"Baby, you ready to go?" He never calls her that, knows she's not too fond of pet-names either, but there's that sickening tight feeling in his chest again and he needs to get out of the party before he pounces on the guy causing it.</p><p>"Let me say goodbye to Eva," Ele's quick, leaning up to place a firm kiss to his mouth - stays there long enough make it halfway-indecent - and disappears behind him, barely even looking back at Tomas. </p><p>"Staking your claim?"</p><p>"Don't need to," Edo drops the empty beer bottle to the low table beside Tomas's knee, taking a step into his personal space as he straightens up. He's stupidly proud of the fact that he's taller, even if not by much, but he knows it's enough to make Tomas have to crane his head to look at him.</p><p>"Think you're better than me-?"</p><p>"For her, absolutely," Edo pulls back, slaps Tomas's shoulder a bit too hard to be considered a friendly pat, and when he turns around again Ele's there, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the party without a second glance.</p><p>"That was <em>not </em>playing nice," She mutters, pulling him down the street towards his place and the tight feeling in his chest completely disappears knowing that she's going home with <em>him, </em>to <em>his </em>home and she's going to wear <em>his </em>clothes in <em>his </em>bed; and when she wakes up it'll be <em>him </em>she says good morning too first and not some asshole with too much hair gel and not enough cologne.</p><p>"Yeah, he didn't play nice either-" He swallows the rest of his defence when he sees that glint in her eye she only ever gets when he's made her <em>really </em>happy, and then he swallows the giggles from her mouth when he presses her into a lamppost to kiss her senseless.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>5</strong>
</p><p>The stupid thing about it all, though, isn't the fact that his teeth hurt from grinding his jaw whenever Tomas shows up, or that his chest feels too tight when Ele steps out of the circle of his arms to go hug Tomas, as briefly as it always is. It's not that the jealousy practically eats him alive whenever they're in the same room, or when Edoardo's away and finds out Tomas has tagged along with the girls.</p><p>Because of all of that he can deal with, knows it's rational. </p><p>It's the fact that it stays around even when they haven't seen him for days - when Edoardo's managed to convince Ele to stay over another night, to just shower in his bathroom and join him for dinner afterwards, to just spend some time together. Just them.</p><p>It's not difficult, convincing her to stay; not since Ele brought a calendar to keep track of all of her assignments and vacation plans with the girls and Edoardo and the guys, not since she started using that same calendar to track how many days until Edoardo leaves. It's a little of an overreach, considering he's not even booked a plane ticket yet, but it makes Ele phone him at midnight asking if he wants to take a walk or come over and binge Netflix with her, and any free time he can get with her is more than amazing.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Ele phoned him over two hours ago, had met him out on the street and attacked him with a hug before he was even out of his car, and he knows she must have spent a good portion of the night overthinking about something but it seems to be his turn. The clock creeps closer to six in the morning and the blinds in Ele's room do nothing to keep out the sunrise. The clock's ticking is too loud, the sun hurts his eyes and he can hear Filo start playing music too loudly for the time, but none of it sticks too long.</p><p>There's a new set of pictures tacked to her pinboard above her desk. He's been staring at it for a while, too long. </p><p>"I'm okay," He rubs at her arm as she huddles closer to him under the covers, and he tries to focus on the feeling of her fingers swirling patterns against his chest.</p><p>There's a picture of the girls on that pinboard, cradling each other in a group hug, but he knows there's one person extra in that photo.</p><p>"Sana was asking about you today-," Ele's talking again, and he swears he's paying attention but Tomas's stupid face is smiling at him from the picture, from the cradle of Ele's arm around his shoulders.</p><p>"-And then when Filo picked us up-"</p><p>Edoardo hates him. Hates the way he feels completely helpless in this situation - because <em>he is</em>. He trusts Ele, <em>knows </em>Ele, but that makes it so much worse; the vulnerability that comes along with her.</p><p>He's always scared of it, the fact that she could wake up one day and decide she's better off with someone else - someone who doesn't have a history of running away from her when things get tough, who doesn't have a perverted brother, or an absent dad and all the issues that come with them, someone who isn't punching ten levels above his weight to date a girl who he doesn't deserve.</p><p>Someone who's going to be on the same <em>continent </em>as her when he eventually leaves for college. </p><p>"Okay," Ele snaps him out of it, deposits herself on his chest and looks down at him. Her hair falls around her and it blocks the light from the window, takes his focus away from the picture and the clock, and when she's this close to him he can focus on the weight of her on top of him, the smell of her shampoo and everything in between instead of Filo's music, "What's wrong?"</p><p>He wants to deflect, feels like it's just obligatory at this point, but he's just going to deflect with only half of the truth and that feels worse than not telling her. There's a need to tell her he's going to miss her to the point of being driven crazy, wants to tell her that he doesn't think he can cope without falling asleep in her bed on the weekends, that there will be a point where he'll stop being able to smell her perfume on his clothes when he's walking to class and that idea terrifies him, and that he wants to pack her up and drag her to New York with him.</p><p>Wants to say that it's not fair he finally got into the college of his dreams, but he has to surrender her for it because it doesn't feel like he has both. It feels like he has her now - helping him pack and track all his new passwords in his notes app and download translation apps to his laptop - but she'll slip right through his fingers as soon as he gets on that plane, and then all he's left with is Cornell and it's too-large lecture halls and the roommate he's been assigned that already hates him and late nights of staying up to study in pathetic efforts to take his mind away from how far away he is from his girlfriend.</p><p>"Edo?"</p><p>Wants to tell her that he doesn't want Tomas swooping in once he's gone. That he promises he's not going to slack with her just because he's hours and countries and oceans away, so Tomas doesn't need to come in and save the day. That just because Tomas isn't as much of a cliche asshole as Edoardo was when they first met doesn't mean he isn't one, and that he doesn't want her finding that out herself.</p><p>"I just..." He tries, and yet again the words don't come out without the threat of him rambling, "Just... God, I <em>hate </em>him."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"He's just so <em>there </em>and he <em>never </em>leaves, and <em>I'm </em>the one leaving even when I'm not and <em>he's </em>the one that's staying and... I hate him. I really, <em>really </em>hate him."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"He has stupid hair - and not like you say my hair is stupid, but <em>actually </em>stupid hair," He carries on, gripping her thighs in his hands and trying to ground himself with the knowledge that she's stroking her cheek and nodding along and not running away, "He always just shows up and I'm about ninety-per-cent sure he's stalking you. He failed <em>first year</em>, Ele, and he doesn't understand personal space or the concept of relationships so he hits on you even when he <em>knows </em>we're together - and Eva hates him too, so you should probably just get rid of him altogether."</p><p>There's a beat, and then, "Are you done?"</p><p>"No, I'm not done," He sits up, knocks her off his chest to slide into his lap, and then he kisses her until he can't physically breathe anymore, "I love you."</p><p>"I love you too," She used to be so shy when they first said it, used to stumble along with the words and blush as dark as her lipstick, and it was always thrilling for him but it's so much better now; where she's already starting saying it back before he finishes talking, where she says it first half the time, where she sounds so <em>confident</em>.</p><p>"He's not even a friend," She strokes his hair from her forehead and Edo leans into her touch, chasing the scrape of her nails against his skin, "I don't even like him, not really."</p><p>"So you're not going to run off with him once I leave?"</p><p>"If I'm running after any boy, it's definitely you."</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>+1</strong>
</p><p>"Breathe," It's not the first time she's had to remind him that since they got here. He's tensed his jaw more times than he can count, bit the inside of his cheek so hard he can taste blood every time he swallows; and throughout it all Ele's just stroked his wrist in that soothing way he never knew worked for him until she came along.</p><p>"He's coming over," He grunts, tightening his grip on Ele's hip. He didn't want to come to this stupid dance anyway, wanted to stay in bed and carry on binge-watching whatever show they're watching together at the moment - which is pointless considering he spends the entire time watching Ele anyway.</p><p>But Ele had insisted on going to his last dance with the school before he goes off to college, and he'd only agreed when Ele showed him her dress. </p><p>The dress that he <em>loved</em>, until he saw the look on Tomas's face, and now he <em>hates </em>the dress.</p><p>Tomas looks absolutely predatory as he slips through the crowd in their direction, and Edo wants to punch his stupid face in for that alone, wants to throw him out the window once he starts looking at Ele's legs in the slit of her dress.</p><p>"Dance with me," She whispers into his ear now, slides her fingers from his wrist to grip his pinky finger and tug him closer. </p><p>He half-stumbles his way after her as she leads them onto the dance floor, ends of her dress flowing around her ankles and Edo's never been one to pay attention to fashion before but God does he love that dress.</p><p>"Eleono-" They have to pass Tomas on the way to the dance floor because God <em>hates </em>Edoardo, but Ele <em>loves </em>him and uses her grip on his hand to slither his arm around her waist from behind, barely stopping as they pass him.</p><p>"We'll try catch you later, Tomas," She calls over her shoulder, not even attempting to sound like she's telling the truth, and spins in the circle of Edo's arm as soon as she finds a spot on the dancefloor for them.</p><p>"Have you told you how much I adore you lately?" He murmurs, stepping into her personal space and knocking their foreheads together.</p><p>Ele - beautiful, smart, fantastic, <em>brilliant </em>Eleonora Sava - winks at him and starts swaying them to the music playing from somewhere behind her, "Not as much as normal."</p><p>"I adore you," He murmurs against her mouth and savours the way she smiles into it, leaning against his chest and squeezing his hand in hers.</p><p>After a moment, once he's mapped every freckle on her face and catalogued the flutter of her eyelashes, he leans to nose against the curve of her jaw, lets her rest against his shoulder as they carry on swaying.</p><p>"You know," He whispers, "Cornell have all these formals and dances," He pauses to spin her out of his arms, pulling her back in again by the tips of her fingers, "Think you can sneak away from the girls long enough to be my date?"</p><p>Ele giggles as they collide again, shaking hair from her face as she tangles her hands together behind his head, "It's Fede we have to worry about, he says you're abandoning him and so I have to take care of him while you're gone."</p><p>"Bring him with you, he has a new thing for American girls."</p><p>"He'll crash all our dates."</p><p>Edo shrugs and grins as he spins them both around, "We've dealt with worse."</p><p>Ele laughs into his shoulder and it's quite possibly the most amazing sound he's ever heard in his life.</p><p>That is, it's the most amazing sound he had ever heard until two hours later when she crowds him against a wall and whispers that she loves him so much it hurts.</p><p>"I'm serious," She says, too serious for the number of drinks she's had tonight, "It hurts. It hurts that you're leaving and I have to do all of this without you, but it also hurts because I know it's going to be four years of it. And it will be. You're going to kick ass over in New York and I'm going to kick ass over here, and then when you graduate I'm going to be right there with you and it's <em>still </em>going to hurt. 'Cause then I get to love you up close, which is really scary because I love you a whole lot."</p><p>Her eyes get a little glossy and he swipes underneath them, thumbs coming back a little damp against her cheeks.</p><p>"And I'm not too good for you, or going to leave you, or whatever else you keep thinking lately. And you're not too good for me either, we're just... we're just the right amount."</p><p>He grins, feels the alcohol rushing to his head when he pitches forward to kiss her, "I love you."</p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>When she leans away from him she's grinning, thumb slipping over his bottom lip and coming back the same shade as her lipstick, but her eyes are all hard-set and serious, "You should really see yourself from my point of view one day."</p><p>"Ridiculously handsome?"</p><p>She laughs again and tugs him back towards the main crowd, smirking over her shoulder at him, "A ridiculous cliche more like."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i have a <a href="http://ao3delinquents.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> now!<br/>so shoot me some requests or prompts over there (any pairing/ship and I'll get back to you if i can write it or not!)!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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